Dates From Hell

1. “I went out with a dude who lived far from me, so he asked if he could drop off some of his work stuff at my place before dinner. Little did I know, he was vegan and taking me to a vegan restaurant. The whole night, he was rude to the waitstaff and me. I asked him questions about himself (he asked me nothing), and he said that I was interrogating him. I was annoyed and hungry — all he ordered was celery root and a mushroom. I wanted to ditch, but he had to grab his stuff from my apartment! Then his train back home wasn’t for a while, so I had to avoid his sexual advances.” —Nicole K., 24

2. “I was working as a social media manager but nannied on the side for extra cash. Anyway, I went on a date with a guy, and when we were talking about my job, he goes, ‘Wait, so you, like, babysit?’ And I said, ‘Well, I nanny for extra money.’ He replied, ‘I told my roommate I thought you were stupid because you are 25 and you babysit.’ We sat in awkward silence the rest of the time.” — Sophie L., 25

3. “I got to the bar where my date was already sitting with a drink. He told me to get myself one plus another for him, then handed me $10 … The drinks were $20 each! He worked in real estate, and the whole time, he kept saying I couldn’t afford any of his listings. Then a couple of things fell out of his pocket. He picked up all his items and threw them on the table. One was a condom, and he shouted, ‘Well, at least I’m prepared!’ Ew.” —Betsy H., 30

4. “I was on a first date with this guy I knew from high school. First, he spilled his entire drink on me, so I sat in a puddle the whole time. The rest of the night was a bit awkward because our waiter, who he happened to know, kept standing and chatting with us when I really just wanted to talk to the guy I was with. When the check came, I offered to pay and he wouldn’t let me, but I asked if I could pay the tip. He agreed, and then when he saw how much I put down, he says, ‘Aren’t you going to give her more? I know her.’ I’d given her 20 percent — calm down.” —Danielle N., 24